Who Should I Start? Luke McCaffrey or Jalen Royals

Friday, October 3, 10:19 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Luke McCaffrey will have another opportunity for more playing time in Week 5. Washington continues to deal with multiple injuries at wide receiver, with Terry McLaurin (quadriceps) and Noah Brown (groin) both ruled out again for Sunday. McCaffrey has now scored touchdowns in back-to-back games without those two players, finding the end zone for the first time in his career on a 43-yard catch and run against the Raiders in Week 3. The second-year wideout, however, hasn't run a high number of routes in any game this season, despite injuries to the top of Washington's receiver room. He ran a season high of just 13 routes this past week against Atlanta. That signals that the coaching staff prefers not to use him on the outside, as journeyman receiver Chris Moore stepped into that role and ran close to a full number of routes against Atlanta. McCaffrey's role could expand this week against a stingy Chargers defense, but he's likely only playable in deeper leagues.

Wednesday, October 8, 11:09 AM

Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals missed the first two games of the 2025 season with a knee injury. He's been active in each of the team's last three games, but Royals has not yet been targeted by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The 22-year-old appears buried on Kansas City's wide receiver depth chart behind Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown, Tyquan Thornton, and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Royals could fall down the depth chart even further in Week 7 when top Chiefs wideout Rashee Rice is eligible to return from suspension. Royals maintains some appeal in dynasty leagues, but he should remain off the radar of redraft fantasy managers for the time being.